Lemon Pasta

Absolutely delicious, simple, lemony pasta.

Lemon Pasta

adapted from Love & Lemons

Ingredients:

8 oz spaghetti

1.5 oz grated Parmesan (about 1/2 cup) + more for garnish*

4 Tbs butter

2 Tbs lemon zest + more for garnish*

1 Tbs lemon juice  (or more, to taste)

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt & pepper to taste

basil or parsley, minced to garnish*

*garnish is optional

Instructions:

1. Boil pasta until al dente, reserving 1 cup of pasta water

2. In a large skillet, melt the butter on medium-high heat, until foamy.

3. Turn heat to medium-low, and saute garlic and lemon zest, stirring frequently for 2 minutes until fragrant.

4. Add pasta and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the skillet. Stir well until a sauce starts to form.

5. Add 1/2 of the Parmesan, and toss well until completely incorporated and sauce starts to thicken.

6. Add lemon juice and remaining Parmesan and toss until sauce is silky smooth. Add more pasta water as needed to get desired texture.

7. Salt and pepper the pasta to taste. Plate, garnish, and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Noodles with Browned Butter Miso sauce

 

Easy delicious 5-ingredient recipe. I recommend cutting the noodles smaller so more surface area for the sauce to coat.

Sweet Potato Noodles with Browned Butter Miso sauce

from dandumbrell

serves 2-4

Ingredients:

2-3 sweet potatoes (enough to get 500g of puree)

400g flour (more as needed)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick butter

2 Tbs. white miso

3/4 cup reserved pasta water

For serving:

- sliced green onions (optional)

- furikake (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel sweet potatoes. Chop into cubes and put into a large sauce pan (will reuse pan later to boil pasta). Cover with 1 inch of salted water, and boil potatoes until soft. Keep the water in the pan to reuse for pasta.

2. Scoop the sweet potatoes out of the water. Measure out 500 g of sweet potatoes and place into a medium bowl. Puree by mashing well with a fork or potato masher.

3. Add flour and salt to potatoes. Mix ingredients until combined then knead for 6-8 minutes until dough is smooth. If dough is too wet, add more flour 20 grams at a time.

4. In a large sauce pan, melt butter on medium-high heat until nutty and brown. Turn off heat, and whisk in miso paste until smooth.

5. Bring potato water to a low simmer, and make noodles by cutting off thin short strips of the dough into the water. Do until all dough is used. Bring water up to a boil (add more water if needed for noodles) and cook until noodles are floating (~5 minutes). Reserve 3/4 cup water for sauce.

6. Whisk reserved pasta water into butter sauce, the. strain noodles and add to pan. Serve, top with desired toppings (green onion is highly recommended) and enjoy!

Orzo Pasta Salad with Kale Pesto

 

Easy and quick pasta salad. For vegetables and protein, you really can add whatever you have on hand! This is a kale pesto, but any pesto would work here (basil, cilantro, etc.). 

Orzo Pasta Salad with Kale Pesto

based on The Roasted Root

Ingredients:

16 oz. box orzo pasta

2-4 cups vegetables (broccoli, onion, zucchini, whatever you have on hand)

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped small

(optional) 2-4 cups protein, cooked (diced chicken, beans, etc.)

Pesto:

4 cups kale, packed

2 cups basil, packed

1/2 cup raw walnuts

1/2 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup Parmesan

3 Tbs. vinegar, rice or other

4 cloves garlic

3/4 cup olive oil

Instructions:

1. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain, and set aside.

2. Cook the vegetables (steam, fry, etc.). Add to the orzo. Add protein is using.

3. In a food processor, add peeled garlic cloves and mince. Add remaining pesto ingredients (except oil) and pulse until a paste forms.

4. While the food processor is running, drizzle oil into pesto until combined.

5. Add pesto to pasta and stir to combine. 

Cajun Pasta

 

This is a tasty Alfredo-based Cajun pasta recipe. You can customize it pretty easily too: If you want to increase sauce, you can add 1 Tbs. butter to every additional 1/2 Tbs. of cream cheese. If you want less meat, leave out the chicken thighs. If you don't want cajun pasta, leave out the sausage, shrimp, and cajun seasoning and add fresh tomato and basil to the pasta!

Cajun Pasta

from Q

Ingredients:

1 lb. Fettuccine, or short pasta of choice

4 chicken thighs, sliced or diced

4 Andouille sausages, sliced thin

1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 small onion, chopped small

1 small red pepper, chopped small

2 large cloves garlic

4 Tbs. butter

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. heavy cream

1 cup Parmesan, grated

cajun seasoning

olive oil

Instructions:

1. Start a pot of salted water boiling for the pasta.

2. Heat 2 Tbs. olive oil in dutch oven on medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, pepper, and 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning. Saute until peppers are soft and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Place vegetables in a separate bowl and set aside.

3. Fry the sausage slices until golden brown on both sides. Spoon sausage slices into bowl with vegetables, leaving behind juices.

4. Dust and rub Cajun seasoning on chicken thighs. Fry chicken thighs until thoroughly cooked. When close to finishing cooking, add in shrimp. Spoon chicken and shrimp into bowl with vegetables and sausages, leaving behind juices.

5. Start cooking pasta.

6. Melt butter in dutch oven. Add softened cream cheese and whisk until combined. Slowly stir in the heavy cream. Add the Parmesan, and whisk until combined. Add pasta water by the tablespoon until sauce sticks to the back of a spoon but still runs off. Add Cajun seasoning to taste. 

7. Add pasta to dutch oven and stir to combine with sauce. Add in vegetables and meat, and stir to combine. 

8. Serve immediately and top with additional grated Parmesan if desired.

Antipasto Pasta Salad

Chicagoan coworker with strong Italian roots introduced me to this recipe. He recommends halving the meat, and I don't disagree! But posting the original.

Antipasto Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
1 lb pasta (shells, elbows, or bowtie)
4 oz. Genoa salami chopped
4 oz. pepperoni, chopped
8 oz. Asiago or sharp Italian cheese, diced
1 can (6 oz. dry weight) black olives, drained and chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 packet (0.6 oz) Italian dressing mix e.g. Good Seasons
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. dried orageno
1 Tbs. dried parsley
1 Tbs. Parmesan, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Boil pasta until al dente. Drain and rinse.
2. In a large bowl, combine pasta, salami, pepperoni, cheese, peppers, and tomatoes. Sprinkle on the envelope of powdered dressing. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate.
3. To prepare the dressing in a small bowl whisk together EVOO, balsamic, orageno, parsley, Parm, salt and pepper. Just before serving, pour dressing over the salad and mix well.

EveryPlate Tuscan Herbed Chicken

So for the first time, I tried a meal box. This had a good deal on FB so I got 6 meals, 3 recipes for $20 including shipping. Even with the severe discount, this is more than I generally pay for food. I hit the Hy-vee deals pretty hard! I quite enjoyed the experience. But due to cost, poor quality of ingredients, and the wastefulness the thing I doubt it's an experience I will duplicate. But: here is my experience and review of it.

I have put the instructions as they came with my personal notes in parentheses.

Review:
     So this was my first meal box ever. It came in a box, which was lined with a shiny foil bubble wrap bag. At the bottom were 2 big reusable ice packs, then the meat, and on top of that another big reusable ice pack, and on top of that was everything else. If I was doing this as a regular thing, the waste alone would probably kill me but since I think this will be a one time experience, I am keeping the ice pack to reused for coolers in the future.
     Most of the produce and meat looked okay, though the red onion has a very bad rotten spot on it (you will see in next post) and the tomatoes are very weak in color. All in all, everything seemed fine.
     With this first recipe, I do think it made a decently sized meal. More like a lunch than a dinner, though. I was hungry enough the first night to eat both servings (which I regretted!). I actually put the whole thing into MyFitnessPal item-for-item (based off the original recipe measurements) to get an exact calorie count. The meal itself was quite tasty! Something richer than I would make for myself, definitely but I think with my modifications and an added vegetable side or salad added this is a meal I see myself making again.
    I found the instructions confusing at times. They seem to jump around from task to task and it's just hard to follow. I have not copied the instructions below but put down my, slightly more logical, interpretation of them. I would consider myself a decent home cook in terms of technique and speed of prep and I think their time estimate is simply inaccurate having followed all the instructions on the card in order.

Estimated cook time: 40 minutes
Actual cook time: 55 minutes

Tuscan Herbed Chicken
by EveryPlate

Ingredients:
- 6 oz. linguini
- 10 oz. chicken breast, boneless skinless (half breasts, and pound flat)
- 1 roma tomato
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4.5 g. Tuscan heat spice
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 oz. cream cheese
- 4 tsp. olive oil (you can get away with half of this just for on the chicken directly)
- 2 Tbs. butter (I recommend leaving out)
- salt

Instructions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat a large skillet on medium head with a light drizzle of olive oil.
2. Small chop tomato. Slice 2 cloves of garlic, finely mince the remaining clove.
3. Pat chicken breast dry with a paper towel. Put breasts into a bowl and add drizzle of olive oil, minced garlic clove, salt, pepper, and half of the Tuscan heat spice. Combine well.
4. Once pasta water is boiling, add pasta. Cook for 9-11 mins. Reserve 1/2 cup of liquid, then drain.
5. Add chicken to heated frying pan. Cook until browned, about 7-10 minutes a side (if not flattened. Otherwise, less)
6. Once cooked, transfer to a cutting board to rest.
7. In chicken skilled, melt the 2 Tbs. butter (or skip!). Add the sliced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
8. Add tomato, remaining seasoning, a pinch of salt and pepper and cook together for another 2-3 mins.
9. Stir in cream cheese, half of the Parmesan, and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water. Bring mixtre to a simmer and add pasta. If pasta seems dry, add more reserved water and stir together until creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
10. Divide pasta between 2 bowls, and thinly slice chicken breast and divide between two bowls. Top with remaining Parmesan.